The present invention relates to beverage servers in general and to an improved cap of the pour-through type that is easily cleanable and self-closing to prevent accidental spillage in particular.
Beverage servers are a common commodity of the restaurant industry as well as being widely found in the home, the work place and institutional settings, such as hospitals. Typically, beverage servers include a pitcher for containing a beverage and a cap that is attached thereto in some manner and that is removable to allow filling of the pitcher. At times they may be so constructed as to allow pouring of the liquid through the cap and from the pitcher. Often the pitcher will have a.double walled construction that includes an insulating material to keep the contained beverage hot or cold as desired.
One problem with many prior art beverage servers is that beverages can be easily spilled from them. Thus, if a beverage.server is upset, the cap can open and allow the beverage to spill out. This spillage wastes not only the beverage but can also directly cause injuries if a hot beverage is spilled onto a person. Indirect injuries may occur to people due to their attempts at avoiding the spilling beverage or later slipping and falling if the beverage should spill onto the floor. In either case, the prepared food merchandiser faces potential economic losses whenever a spill occurs due to payment of damages for any injuries as well as the loss of business because of unhappy customers. The dangers related to an unsealed server and spills therefrom in the restaurant industry are also applicable to their use in the home, the work place, or the institutional setting. While devices that provide a sealed container are presently being sold, such as beverage servers having a screw-on cap, they are often difficult for certain segments of the population to use, such as the elderly or individuals who have a loss of hand flexibility or strength and are therefore not acceptable for use generally. Additionally, because of the time involved in sealing and unsealing the caps, they are not practical or economical to use in a busy environment such as a restaurant where it is more desirable to have waiters dispensing prompt service to the waiting customer than spending time sealing and unsealing server caps. Another problem with these types of caps is that they are usually unable to be readily disassembled for cleaning and then reassembled quickly for use. Cleaning of these prior art caps is oftentimes difficult, thereby compromising the sanitation of the beverage server and creating the potential for unsightly filth or grime to accumulate within the view of the customer or other beverage recipient.
Another problem associated with certain beverage servers is one referred to as xe2x80x9cvapor lockxe2x80x9d. This occurs where pressure built up in the interior of the server acts to keep the cap of the server closed, thereby preventing one from pouring beverages from the server. This is typically due to play in the mechanism for actuating the valve that controls the flow of beverages from the server.
Finally, known prior art caps require the cap to be removed prior to filling the pitcher, which can result in further time delays for busy waiters and which can also lead to spills.
It would be desirable, therefore, to have a beverage server having a cap capable of sealing onto the pitcher to prevent accidental spills that is simple to use, that requires a minimum of hand strength and flexibility, a minimum of time to use, that is readily disassembled and reassembled for improved cleaning and increased sanitation, and/or that would reliably enable the user of the beverage server to fill the same without removal of the cap therefrom.
It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus that is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved cap for a beverage server that includes a push-button activated valve to open and close a passage through the cap to allow beverages to be selectively poured from the server.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved cap that comprises parts or components that are readily attached to each other such that the cap is capable of being readily assembled or disassembled for cleaning.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cap for a beverage server than enables the user to fill the beverage server without removing the cap from the pitcher.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a beverage server cap that is made from synthetic materials and includes a plurality of shape memory retentive legs that act as biasing means to bias a valve opening and closing a passage within the cap into a closed position to prevent accidental spillage of a liquid from the beverage server.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved beverage server cap that reliably actuates the valve for opening and closing a passage within the cap along which beverages exit the server.
The foregoing objects of the present invention are provided by a cap having a plurality of readily assembled parts that provide a passage for a beverage or liquid through the cap from the pitcher to the exterior thereof. The cap has a cap body made up of top and bottom portions that are constructed of a synthetic material in preferred embodiment and are formed so as to snap fit together, the top and bottom portions including lugs and corresponding mating, interlocking recesses. The cap body defines an interior cavity or passage from an entry defined by.the bottom portion to an exit cooperatively defined by the top and bottom portions. The entry is selectively opened and closed to allow fluid or liquid passage through the cap by a valve that is biased into a closed position. In a preferred embodiment the valve is attached to a plunger having a cylindrical configuration and including a plurality of upwardly and outwardly extending shape memory retentive legs that are confined within a receiving collar attached to the bottom portion. The plunger is movable between open and closed positions wherein the attached valve respectively opens and closes the entry of the internal cap passage so as to selectively allow liquid to flow through the passage. The plunger is moved downwardly from its closed position through the interaction of the plunger with a ring closely and slidably surrounding the receiving collar, the ring being attached to a user accessible push button. The ring also has extending therefrom opposite the user accessible push-button a cantilevered frame having a distal end that defines an axis of rotation for the ring. Therefore, the ring is moved from a first position in which the valve is closed and a second position in which the valve is open along a curvilinear path that approximates linear motion.
In operation, as the push button is depressed downwardly, the attached ring presses downwardly on the plunger, forcing it downwardly within the receiving collar and thus opening the entry to the internal passage. This downward motion of the plunger in turn causes the outwardly extending shape memory retentive legs to bear against the inside of the receiving collar and forces the legs to bend inwardly within the perimeter of the collar. As the legs are forced inwardly, a biasing force is created within the legs to return the plunger to its rest or valve closed position. Releasing the push-button allows the legs to exert their biasing force and return to their naturally disposed outward position. That is, the legs, in their efforts to return to their natural outwardly extending positions, bear against the collar upper edge and leverage the plunger upwardly such that the valve seats and closes the entry to the passage, thereby stopping the flow of liquid therethrough.